TrioTale
by Felicity The Pirate
Summary: Many years ago, the king's youngest son, Asriel, found a fallen human by the name of Chara. Ralsei is the eldest Dreemur, next in line for the throne but with the arrival of a second human by the name of Frisk, the future of all the monsters rests in the hands of the two humans that now roam the underground. Chara is determined to protect their family and keep them safe.
1. Nightmares and Pie

Chara stood in the great halls of the castle. The chill night air made the hair on the back of their neck stand up and caused the teen to shiver. They had awoken moments before in their room before clambering out of bed and wandering down the cool tile halls barefoot. The tall vertical windows that lined the halls were open, letting the wind rush inside as they thrashed the purple curtains about. The brunette was silent as a mouse as they typically were. Toriel and Asgore were asleep, no doubt. They wouldn't notice if Chara borrowed a slice of pie from the fridge.

They needed a midnight snack to lull them back into sleep, after all… Right?

Chara shared a room with their two siblings, despite how annoying the two goats could be. Asriel was the better of the two. At least he wasn't always rambling about his visions for the kingdom under the mountain once he became ruler. Ralsei was ahead of him, though. Much to Asriel's dismay, Ralsei was two years older than himself. The two had several disagreements about how the kingdom should be run when it came time to take their parent's place.

Chara wanted nothing to do with such talk. They wanted to sneak chocolate out of the kitchen and hide it in stashes, scavenge through the dump for new movies and be a kid.

Why did Ralsei and Asriel care so much about how the kingdom would be run in the future?

It was so far away, anyway. Asriel was only sixteen, the same age as Chara, which meant Ralsei was eighteen. He had just celebrated his birthday the morning prior which was why there was a nice treat waiting for the human down the hall. By the time Chara reached their family's private little kitchen, they stilled in the doorway. It appeared that Asriel had beaten them to it which was… unusual to say the least. Chara blinked, unsure what to say.

Asriel sat at the kitchen table, half-heartedly picking at a slice of his brother's birthday pie.

He knew Chara was there but only acknowledged his sibling with a small hum, not even bothering to make eye contact. Chara walked into the kitchen after staring at Asriel for just a moment too long. The kitchen was dark apart from a small nightlight that was plugged into the wall, letting off a soft blue glow.

"Another dream?" Chara questioned softly as they took a seat next to Asriel. The goat boy nodded and quietly set his fork down on the little red plate his pie sat on. He slid it over to Chara, clearly having no appetite for it. Chara blinked, unsure if they should accept the pie right off the bat. Asriel was clearly feeling like garbage. Digging into the pie without a moment's hesitation would make it seem as if they didn't care for their brother's feelings.

Chara looked up at Asriel, a concerned expression locked on their face.

"What was it this time?" They asked, idly running their soft, cold fingers across the porcelain plate. Asriel opened his maw, looking as if he were about to speak before closing his mouth.

It took a good twenty seconds of silence before he managed to get anything out.

"My horns…" He lifted his paw and lightly tapped on the grey points that were coming in. They weren't nearly as long as his father's yet but they were longer than Ralsei's. Asriel made sure to tease his big brother about it occasionally. It was all in lighthearted fun.

Chara looked at the horns, watching as Asriel ran a claw along them slowly.

"We were fighting." Asriel continued, lowering his hand to rest in his lap. Chara waited for him to continue, ignoring the pie completely now.

"Not play fighting." Asriel clarified. "Real fighting. And… my horns were huge. Bigger than dad's." Asriel lifted his head, staring at Chara with big, teary eyes.

Oh no. Here it came. He always cried. Chara made a move to climb from their chair and bring the goat boy into a tight hug but Asriel sniffled and wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve, shaking his head with a shuddering breath. Chara remained on the edge of their chair, watching Asriel closely. There was another long moment of silence before another sound was made.

"I impaled you." Asriel choked out. There were the tears. He let out a broken sob and Chara stood, taking a few steps and embracing their brother. Asriel pressed his face into Chara's shoulder, shaking like a leaf as he let out broken sobs.

Chara hadn't seen him cry this bad in a while. The two remained together in the kitchen, clutching each other without speaking. The only sounds were the crickets outside and the young Prince's quiet cries. After what seemed like ages, Asriel quieted down, sniffling as he attempted to calm his breathing. Chara hesitantly pulled away once they knew Asriel was alright, looking down at him sympathetically. Asriel took a deep breath and wiped his eyes again, soaking his sleeves in the process.

"Promise me." He said. "Promise me you'll never make me fight you."

Chara leaned down, pulling their brother into a firm hug. Now it was their turn to hide in his shoulder. Asriel clung to the human like a lifeline, still shaken and in tears.

"Never, Azzy. You'll never have to fight me. I'll never fight you."

That seemed to be good enough for the young Prince. Chara eventually made their way back to their chair and the two talked for what must have been an hour, quietly conversing and calming themselves, even if Asriel was the one who needed calming. As Chara slid their dirty plate into the sink, Asriel spoke up one last time.

"Don't tell Ralsei." Chara gave a small nod and walked over to Asriel, clinging to his arm as they made their way back down the hall and to their room. Maybe pie prevented nightmares.


	2. Royal Duties

Ah, yes. _Royal duties_. Chara could have vomited at the thought. Here they stood, though.

Complaining would only upset their mother, Toriel. Going along with their 'royal duties' was the only way to get this over with. Whenever Asgore or Toriel had to speak to their people they insisted on all three of their children dressing up in their royal attire and sitting or standing behind them. While Ralsei didn't mind the purple getup, Chara certainly did. Asriel wasn't fond of it but never said a word. Once when the trio were called to stand before their people, Asriel had though he was clever by wearing his pajamas under his more fancy clothes. The result was… interesting. Ralsei and Chara watched in silence as Toriel tried to figure why on earth Asriel's clothes had looked so terrible and puffy. Asriel was devastated when his master plan had been revealed and his mother made him take his pajamas off. The boy never tried it again, though Chara and Ralsei sort of wanted to see him try one more time and succeed.

The outfits they wore now that they were older were much more comfortable. They wore capes like their father. The long purple fabric pooled on the ground at their feet. Ralsei was the tallest of the trio, standing at 5'9". Chara and Asriel stood at only 5'7". Chara didn't seem to care much about their height, like most things. Asriel on the other hand was _very_ upset. He was supposed to grow up to be a great king like his dad! He had to tower over other monsters. Toriel had assured the little white ball of fluff that he wasn't done growing yet and still had time to spring up like a blooming flower. Chara had accepted that as a human, most monsters would be taller than them in the end anyway. Both Toriel and Asgore towered over the little brunette. Chara never felt intimidated by their parents, though…. Not their goat parents, anyway.

Asriel shifted his weight, unable to hide a small yawn that made his eyes water. He had stayed up too late the night before. Chara had woken him up in the dead of night, insisting that they sneak off to The Ruins; one of their favorite places to play. The sunlight from the surface bled down into the cave, lighting up the yellow flowers that broke Chara's fall so many years before. Not many monsters still lived in The Ruins which made it feel much more magical in a way. It was a place just for the trio to explore, even if the walk there and back to the castle was rather tiring. They could typically get a boat ride from Hotland to Snowdin and then it was just a quick walk through town to their destination. The Ruins were very dark at night, especially the area where the kids liked to play. Asriel had groggily asked why Chara wanted to go there at such an hour but the human kept insisting that they had to hurry and go. The commotion in their shared bedroom woke Ralsei, the eldest of the three. Ralsei had demanded that they all be quiet and go to sleep, rambling about how _important things_ were happening in the morning.

Asriel and Chara went to sleep again, or at least Asriel had thought Chara had slept.

When he woke later in the night to find Chara missing, he knew that they had made the journey to that flower bed where they fell by themselves. He knew that Chara was going to be fine. There wasn't a soul in the underground that didn't know who the human was. The monsters had come to adore the odd little human as one of their own. While Chara wasn't particularly fond of overly eager strangers showering them and the two princes in gifts when they passed through town, they couldn't complain when chocolate was offered to them.

Chara had slipped back into their room near sunrise, covered in mud. Yellow flower petals clung to the mud stuck on their boots, confirming that they had in fact made the journey all the way to The Ruins alone. Asriel couldn't help but feel a little guilty that he hadn't tagged along but he had been unable to sleep until Chara returned. He'd say he paid for not going with them.

He had asked Chara what could have possibly been so important that they needed to sneak out in the middle of the night but they refused to answer. They slipped their boots off and slid into bed, shivering from the cold that settled in their bones.

Now here they stood. Both Chara and Asriel looked like they hadn't slept for a week and Ralsei was the only royal child who actually looked as if he cared about what his father was saying.

Chara stared down at their feet, eyeing the black boots Toriel made them wear at every formal event. They weren't nearly as comfortable as their run down muddy brown boots.

Sacrifices had to be made to look nice for the monsters, though. Chara knew they should feel lucky for being taken into the royal family. Never before had they owned so many clothes or been fed as well as they had now. Still, was it worth having to dress up like the royalty they had been constantly told they were? Chara silently decided that, yes… It was.

Ralsei was thankfully listening to Asgore too intently to notice his sibling's expressions of exhaustion. Toriel had her back to her children, standing right beside Asgore at the front of the small balcony where they announced important things to their people.

Asriel looked up at Chara with a hint of worry. Even though Chara was quieter than most children, they spoke to Asriel quite frequently. All throughout the morning they hadn't uttered more than a few words which was… concerning. Asriel had assumed that Chara was simply tired from the night before but now, he wasn't so sure. Toriel and Asgore dismissed their children as the time for going down and mingling with their people came. Chara and Asriel slipped off together, leaving Ralsei to follow in Asgore's shadow just like he wanted. He didn't even notice when the two slipped off together. He'd grown used to them ditching formal events.

"_Chara_," Asriel spoke, trying to keep up with them as they walked down the halls at an alarmingly fast pace. Chara clutched onto Asriel's paw, not muttering a word as they continued dragging him along. It only took a moment for them to reach their room. Chara pulled Asriel inside and shut the door, quickly removing their fancy boots and tossing them carelessly by their bed. Asriel began to remove the cape that rested on his shoulders, watching Chara with an ever curious eye. It only took Chara about twenty seconds to strip all their royal clothing off, revealing that they had in fact worn their green and yellow sweater underneath. Asriel's brows shot up in surprise. How had they ...? He removed his small crown from his head, carefully avoiding scratching it on his small grey horns. Chara had flung their crown onto the bed with their cape, clearly not caring if the object was lost in the pile of royal garbage.

"Are we going there, Chara? To The Ruins?" Asriel asked meekly as he neatly folded his cape to put away later. Chara gave a quick nod and turned to rummage through the closet. They snagged Asriel's sweater out and pelted it at the goat boy, hitting him in the face with it.

Asriel let out a surprised squeak and caught it before it had the chance to fall to the floor.

"Get changed. I'll be by the door." And that was all Chara said before leaving Asriel alone in the room. As the door shut, Asriel couldn't help the anxious shiver that ran down his spine.

What was in The Ruins?


	3. The Flowerbed

"Wait up, Chara!" Asriel called out with a winded huff. Chara was sprinting through the snow, determined to reach The Ruins as soon as possible. Asriel panted, shivering as the steam from his breath evaporated into nothingness. It had begun to snow just after the two had arrived in Snowdin. Chara had no intention of sticking around, though. Playing in the snow banks was the last thing on their mind. They were aware that Asriel was having trouble keeping up behind them but there was just no time to stop. They had already slowed their pace down for him. Asriel _really _needed to work on his stamina. Chara made their way onto the bridge that gave monsters passage over one of the deep caverns of Snowdin. It didn't take them long to make it to the middle before turning to see Asriel panting at the other side, still standing in the snow.

"Come on." Chara called out flatly, a little winded themselves.  
Asriel shook his head and lifted his hand up, holding a single digit up instead of speaking. He needed a moment. Chara let out a loud huff and rolled their eyes before turning and continuing across the bridge. The sound Asriel stomping across the creaky wood behind them a moment later let them know that they could continue. They'd have to make it up to Asriel for making him run so much later. Maybe they'd make him a pie? Toriel had taught them how to make it a while back, urging the importance that Chara didn't share the recipe with any other monsters besides their siblings. It was a family secret, apparently. The pie was to die for, though. Chara couldn't exactly blame their mother for not sharing it with the entire underground.

The two arrived at The Ruins sooner than expected and didn't hesitate a moment before slipping inside. Chara had calmed down somewhat but was still very clearly on edge and uncomfortable. As Chara's boot steps echoed throughout the purple brick halls of The Ruins they couldn't help but shrink in on themselves. Why had they brought Asriel with them? They knew it was pointless to have their brother tag along. Even when they reached the flowerbed and showed him what they brought him all the way out here for, Asriel couldn't do anything to help. Asriel couldn't see any of their SAVE points, either. Nobody could. It was a light that only Chara could see. It was a way to cheat death and fate, only now…

Chara let out a miserable sound and turned to look at Asriel who was still attempting to get the clumps of snow out of his fur that just refused to leave.  
"Do you remember when I told you about those lights?" Chara asked softly. Asriel tipped his nose up to look at Chara, ceasing his attempts to rid himself of the snow.

"Yeah… what about them?" Asriel asked with some hesitance. In the past when Chara had mentioned the ominous yellow glint that appeared in different parts of the underground Asriel hadn't believed them. Who would have? Chara had proven to Asriel that what they were saying was true. They had asked Asriel a series of questions that nobody else could possibly know the answers to. Nobody but Asriel himself. Asriel had reluctantly surrendered the answers to them before Chara- without having told Asriel their plan beforehand…. Went back. It was quick. Their pocket knife did wonders.

When Chara woke from death they told Asriel the things that he'd never told a soul.

Not even Chara; and they shared everything with each other. That was when Asriel believed them. Ralsei was much more hesitant to take Chara's word for it, despite Asriel insisting that it had to be true since Chara knew things they simply couldn't have known if they were lying. Chara had attempted to show Ralsei that they weren't making it all up on several different occasions. Ralsei never bought it, no matter what Chara tried to use as evidence. Chara loved Ralsei, they really did but Asriel had always just been closer to them.

Having Asriel believe them definitely strengthened that bond.

"I can't use them anymore." Chara said flatly, never stopping to talk. They had to reach the flowerbed. There was no time to stop. Asriel's face twisted into a look of confusion. The goat boy sprinted forward to catch up with Chara. The two walked side by side, leaving a trail of melting snow behind them.

"W-What do you mean you can't use them?"

"It means-" Chara looked over at Asriel, a cold look on their face.

"I can't use them. They aren't mine anymore." Asriel blinked, shaking his head in bewilderment. _He wasn't getting it._ Chara remained silent for a moment, waiting to see if Asriel would catch on. When no hint of recognition was shown, Chara rolled their eyes and looked away.  
"It means, Asriel…" Chara tiptoed over a puzzle they'd crossed over countless times, avoiding the spikes and taking the path they knew was safe. Asriel followed close behind, staring down at the ground where the false spikes evaporated into nothingness. The puzzle was a mixture of metal and magic, he recalled silently, remembering when Ralsei recanted what Toriel had told them about the traps in the ruins. "_Asriel!_" Chara barked, causing the goat to jolt in a brief moment of terror. Asriel's eyes shot up to meet Chara's red-eyed glare. That stare always made him uncomfortable.

"Were you even listening to me?" Chara asked as they reached the other side of the puzzle. The human crossed their arms and cocked their head sideways, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner. Asriel hesitated before shrinking in on himself, twiddling his clawed thumbs shamefully. He hadn't meant to drift off into thought.

"Somebody else has control of them, Asriel." Chara spat.

"Do you understand what I'm getting at?" The brunette questioned with a hint or irritance in their voice. When the goat monster showed no sign of catching on once more, Chara turned and continued walking deeper into the ruins. Asriel trailed very closeby, shadowing them perfectly. Usually it was the other way around. With a noise akin to a grunt, Chara shook their head as they continued. They moved their hands around as they spoke; something they only did when severely stressed. Seeing Chara in such a state made Asriel wince.

"Someone new is in the underground. Someone who can see the lights and can… reset."

Although Chara didn't speak of RESETS much, Asriel knew what they were.

There were a few occasions where Chara spoke of being able to turn back time without dying first. They promised Asriel that they wouldn't RESET ever again after their first time figuring out what they were. The entire concept of SAVING and RESETS made Asriel's head spin. If Chara hadn't proven to him that they were real he would have thought they'd gone crazy.

"How do you know there's someone else controlling them?" Asriel chimed in meekly, keeping his voice very soft and low. Talking about the RESETS outside of the privacy of their home was a little risky. Chara didn't want any monsters to know anything about it except for their siblings.

It wouldn't do anyone any good to know about them and would only stir up trouble.

"Couldn't they just be broken or something?"

"I thought that at first," Chara admitted with a nod. Asriel made his way to walk by their side and watched Chara's face carefully. The human actually looked worried. Asriel didn't see that expression on their face often. Chara was shy at times and was certainly a quiet kid to those that didn't know them but they weren't easily frightened and they certainly didn't have much to worry about. They were treated like royalty and had two loving goat parents.

What was there to worry about? Chara was a brave kid, alibet a bit mentally damaged from their past of the surface that they didn't talk about much. Asriel was the oversensitive crybaby. Even though he had gotten better about breaking down into tears as he got older, he was still known as an emotional kid. Ralsei was the optimistic one. He always looked for ways to settle things that would make everyone happy. Honestly, both Asriel and Chara were glad he'd be the king long before either of them had to think about taking up such a tiring position.

Chara wasn't one to worry over nothing, though. The fact that they looked even a little bit frightened made Asriel's stomach twist in worry. Before Asriel could ask why Chara no longer thought that the SAVE points were simply broken the two reached the bed of golden flowers.

Several of the golden petals had been smashed and scattered about, decorating the grass where the flowers didn't grow. Asriel walked closer, hesitantly staring at the mess of petals and what was splattered beside them. There were a few drops of blood. Not much,but someone had obviously been injured here. The flowers had been smashed… blood…

Asriel's eyes widened in realization. "_Another human._" He gasped out breathlessly.

Chara didn't bother to reply. There was no need. Muddy boot prints led away from the flowerbed and through a passage into the ruins. Asriel was still as a statue.

"How did you know to come here?" He asked, discomfort eminent in his voice.  
"Because this is where I fell." Chara bent down to the bed of buttercups and ran one of their fingers over the blood stained petal. The sunlight pouring down from above made them want to climb out of this cavern just one more time to feel the sun on their pale skin. They missed it.

"So, there's another human?" A new voice chimed in, causing both of them to jolt in surprise.

Ralsei was approaching, paws clenched together gently. He was wearing that stupid hat again now that he'd left the gathering. He'd changed out of his formal attire and was dressed in his green robe. A red scarf was wrapped around his neck tightly and hung down at his sides.

"..._Yes_." Chara replied to their brother as they stood and brushed some pollen off of their shirt.

Asriel was clearly worried about the arrival of another human. While he trusted Chara with his life, the stories he'd heard about the war were horrifying. What if this human wasn't as docile as Chara? Ralsei wore a big grin on his face, smiling ear to ear. The eldest of the trio was excited.

"Where do you think they've gone?" He asked with a slight bounce as he giddily rocked in place.

"Somewhere in the ruins." Asriel replied. The fact that another human had fallen without anyone knowing was alarming enough but now they were hiding somewhere in the ruins...

While Chara knew firsthand the cruelty that humans were capable of inflicting their siblings were not. Asriel was fearful of the human and rightfully so. Ralsei seemed to have an entirely different view on the situation. Instead of viewing the human as a mysterious enemy he wanted to search for them. Chara knew that Ralsei wanted to befriend the human. He was just… too innocent. The humans from Chara's village would have taken advantage of that and dusted the goat price in a heartbeat. Chara walked up to Ralsei without a hint of emotion on their face.  
"Stay away from the human." They said flatly. Ralsei stared down at Chara for a long moment, unsure how to respond to Chara's sudden serious demeanor.

"You can't be serious." Ralsei said, watching as Chara walked past them and away from the flowerbed. Asriel followed after them, not wasting a moment before returning to Chara's side.

Ralsei followed his siblings with a small huff. Chara had been feared by most monsters when they had first fallen so why would they want this new human to feel rejected and out of place if they knew how it felt? Was Chara scared that this human would cause trouble? Surely there wasn't anything to fear. Chara was a gentle soul even if they were far from normal, even by monster's standards. While Chara was the only human Ralsei had ever had contact with he was well aware of the stories of the war and why they were sealed under the mountain.

Not all humans were bad, though. Chara was living proof of that!  
Humans had clearly changed for the better, Ralsei decided with a small hum. Chara was just worried and protective of Asriel as per usual. Asriel and Chara were muttering something that Ralsei couldn't quite catch. He sped up and caught up to them with a gentle smile.

He'd seek out the human without Chara if he had to. It was his duty as the future king to welcome any fallen humans into his kingdom.  
Chara glanced over to Ralsei as he caught up and narrowed their eyes.

"This stays between the three of us. Not even mom and dad can know." Chara said.

They were dead serious. Ralsei was about to protest before realizing that keeping this from his parents would give him the chance to find the human and introduce them to the underground on his own. It would be an opportunity to show his parents and the rest of monsterkind that he was a responsible prince and would be a good king. He nodded, giving Chara a kind smile.

"Alright." He said softly.

As the trio made their way back to the castle they all found themselves feeling quite alone with their feelings. Chara was both worried and cold; maybe a little angry. Asriel felt sick, upset and _very afraid._ Ralsei felt excited, hopeful and _determined._


End file.
